Designing the ultimate contest marketing strategy

Everyone loves to feel like a winner, and your customers are no different. There’s a certain buzz that comes from being declared a champion and embracing this energy is a smart approach when it comes to connecting with customers. This is where contest marketing comes in, and it’s the strategic use of sweepstakes and contests to get your target market excited and energised and connected with your brand. 

Contest marketing is not a new concept and has long existed in offline forms. But the rapid growth of digital and social channels has vastly increased the reach and potential of this form of marketing, and this means LOTS more opportunity for your business. The genius of content marketing is that it’s a fun and interactive way to showcase your brand and products without directly promoting anything, so it’s more about giving your customer something they want rather than hitting them with a pushy sales message. 

Another huge benefit of contest marketing is that it can be a terrific way to generate lots of user-generated content and positive word of mouth, especially on social media. This is really the ultimate prize for YOU, as nothing is more effective at selling your brand and products than genuine customers raving about them.

So what does it take to create an effective contest marketing campaign? Here are the four key pillars to success:

1. Select an objective

For a campaign to be effective, you need to first work out what you’re trying to do. Do you want to build brand awareness with a specific demographic or find new customers? Are you looking for a way to reward your ongoing customers for their loyalty or do you want to promote a specific product/offer? Are you trying to increase your follower base on social media or conducting some market research on a particular offering? Knowing the answer to these questions and the goal of your campaign is crucial because this will help you choose the right approach.

2. Define your audience

Once you know what you’re trying to do, you need to identify who specifically you want to speak to with this campaign. Use any target audience data you have available to help you with this and then use this information to inform the next step.

3. Craft your contest

Okay, so you know what you’re trying to do and who you want to target. Now it’s time to design a contest that speaks to these goals. First you need to decide what type of contest you’re going to choose, whether it’s an event-based competition, a giveaway, a quiz/trivia activity, or a photo competition.. 

Then decide what participants need to do to take part in the contest – do they need to make a purchase, complete an activity or do they need to do something else, like follow your account, tag a friend or sign up to your newsletter? You can use your overall goals to decide which actions are most important for this contest. 

Finally, you need to establish the rules for judging the contest including the end time/date, plus judging conditions and prizes. Don’t forget to investigate if permits are needed in the specific states the contest will be open to.

4. Set your measurements

There is no point in running a campaign like this if you don’t track the results, so it is essential that you establish your KPIs and metrics before you start the contest. Decide what you want to measure and how you are going to measure it. Then be sure to actually keep track of these metrics through close monitoring during and after the campaign. You’ll be amazed how much information can be gleaned on your customers through a contest marketing campaign!

Do it right and you’ll benefit from a boost in engagement from both new and existing customers, all of whom will be inspired to connect with and celebrate your brand thanks to the promise of prizes. 

If you like the idea of stepping into the contest marketing space but are not sure how to go about it, get in touch with our team here at Awaken and we can walk you through your many options. There are so many different ways to create effective contests and we have lots of experience leveraging these opportunities for our clients to help them achieve incredible results – and we would be thrilled to do the same for you! Get in touch today and let’s start a conversation.